| Karolina Světlá | |
| Birth Name: | Johana Rottová |
| Birth Date: | 24 February 1830 |
| Birth Place: | Prague, Austrian Empire |
| Death Place: | Prague, Austria-Hungary |
| Resting Place: | Olšany Cemetery |
| Occupation: | Writer |
| Nationality: | Czech |
| Genre: | Literary realism |
| Movement: | May school |
| Notableworks: | Vesnický román Kříž u potoka |
| Spouse: | Petr Mužák |
| Partner: | Jan Neruda |
| Relatives: | Sofie Podlipská (sister) |
| Signature: | Karolína Světlá-Unterschrift.jpg |
Karolina Světlá (born Johana Rottová; 24 February 1830 in Prague – 7 September 1899 in Prague) was a Czech female author of the 19th century. She was associated with the literary May School. She married Professor Petr Mužák (1821–1892) in 1852, who had taught her music. She also had an affair with Jan Neruda. She introduced Eliška Krásnohorská to literature and feminism. She edited the magazine Ženské listy which was established by Krásnohorská in 1873.[1]
Her first novel Vesnický román (A Village Novel) was published in 1867.[2] [3] Her other works include Nemodlenec (1873) and Kříž u potoka (adapted into a film of the same name in 1921).
Karolina Světlá chose her pseudonym after Světlá pod Ještědem, where her husband was born.[4] She lived in Světlá pod Ještědem from 1853 to 1865. In 1931, the monument of Karolina Světlá was raised in Světlá pod Ještědem. It is protected as a cultural monument.[5]